Legislative Information
2012 ONGEA/ONGA Legislative Priorities
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July 26, 2011
Great news! Your Association continues to actively advocate for meaningful member benefits. Members of the Ohio National Guard (ONG) will directly benefit from three recent state legislative victories thanks to the leadership of the Adjutant General's department and timely responses from Ohio National Guard Association and the Ohio National Guard Enlisted Association members. These victories include:1. H.B. 121 - The bill that protects the custody rights of deploying service members was signed into law June 10, 2011. ONGA and ONGEA leadership attended the Governor's Bill signing ceremony alongside the Adjutant General's department representatives.Thanks to Mr. Johann Klein, ONG Legislative Liaison, for the following report:2. H.B. 153 - The Senate increased funding for the Ohio National Guard Scholarship Program and included language that substantially reformed the Scholarship program. The new language essentially holds Guard members harmless if there is a shortfall in state funding. This effort to revise the scholarship program means that that we will not have to deny any scholarships this biennium; this will also protect future Guard members from having to pay their tuition.The bill requires the Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, when appropriations and reserves are not adequate to fully fund scholarships for all eligible applicants, to do both of the following:(A) Notify private institutions of higher education where a scholarship recipient is enrolled that, by accepting the Ohio National Guard Scholarship program as payment for all or part of the institution's tuition, the institution agrees that, if the chancellor reduces the amount of each scholarship, the institution agrees to provide each scholarship recipient a grant or tuition waiver in an amount equal to the amount the recipient's scholarship was reduced by the Chancellor.(B) Reduce the amount of each scholarship, for recipients enrolled in state institutions of higher education, proportionally based on the amount of remaining available funds. Requires each state institution of higher education to provide each scholarship recipient, whose scholarship amount was reduced due to lack of funding, a grant or tuition waiver in an amount equal to the amount the recipient's scholarship was reduced by the Chancellor.PLEASE NOTE THIS NEW PROVISION: Guard members who are seeking conditional release to join another branch of the armed services should be aware that the state will now recoup money from them for the scholarship funds they use. The bill establishes that a scholarship recipient who fails to complete the recipient's term of enlistment because the recipient enlisted in the active component of the United States armed forces or the active reserve component of the United States armed forces is liable to the state for repayment of a percentage of all Ohio National Guard Scholarships paid on behalf of the recipient plus interest at a rate of 10% per year. Under current law, a recipient may enlist in the active components of the United States armed forces or active reserves without penalty. Thank you to all of the enlisted members who contacted their state senators urging them to continue funding this valuable benefit for the men and women of the Ohio National Guard!! Your voice was heard!